Crystal Lake Mom Gives Birth While Battling COVID-19: Report

By Woo-Sung Shim, the Lake & McHenry County Scanner:

A fundraiser was started to support a Crystal Lake family after a mother gave birth and had to be put into a coma while battling COVID-19.

The GoFundMe was started by Kathryn Dominick Vitkus to help the Kelly family.

Vitkus said that Samantha, the mother, was hospitalized with COVID-19 and then went into labor and gave birth. Samantha had to be intubated and she was put into an induced coma, Vitkus said.

The baby was born seven weeks early. The family has two kids, a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old.
Donnell, who is Samantha’s husband, is the primary source of income for the family.

His newly-employed job required him to go back to work. He does not qualify for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and he exhausted his vacation and sick pay, Vitkus said.

Donnell spends his day getting his two kids on the bus for school. He then spends eight hours at the hospital for his newborn baby and his wife.

He then returns home to care for his children for the rest of the day.

Vitkus said that the fundraiser, which currently raised nearly $2,000, will be used to help the family with rent, hospital bills and continuation of health coverage through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).

“The young family is struggling and Donnell is trying to hold his family together,” Vitkus said.

“Samantha faces a battle in her recovery and Donnell would love to focus on her and his children without the extra burden on his bills. Please consider helping this lovely family,” Vitkus added.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.